Sylvain Helaine, a teacher with tattooed eyeballs and tongue, says his body art makes him feel invincible. He has worked in primary schools in the UK and abroad for nearly 20 years and recently discussed his classroom experience on ITV's This Morning.
Journey began in Britain
The French educator, who now lives near Paris, got his first tattoo on his arm in 2012 when he was 27. He was inspired after seeing someone on the street with full sleeves, which he said 'opened his eyes'.
On the show, he told presenters Dermot O'Leary and Sian Welby that he was teaching in Britain when he encountered someone with a complete sleeve, sparking his interest and prompting him to get his own arm tattoo.
Reactions in the classroom
Asked how his appearance has affected his professional life, Helaine said: "During the first day [of school], because if I do something good, people will say, 'Oh, obviously he's the best, we were about to see that'. But if I do something a little bad, they will think that I'm awful because of my appearance."
He previously explained the reactions he faces: "It always takes two minutes for children to accept me, two hours for the parents, and two days for grandparents. So it just takes a little bit of time."
Ongoing tattoo journey
Helaine said he avoids discussing his tattoos during lessons: "I don't talk about my tattoos and my appearance at all when we are in the classroom. We just work, we take out our exercise book, write out the date, and it goes like that. I'm really serious. But if they have some questions to ask me, they can wait for the playground, for example."
His body art includes black ink covering the whites of his eyes, his tongue, and beneath his nails on both hands and feet. He has also undergone procedures to remove his nipples and belly button to achieve a more uniform skin surface for easier tattooing.
Pain and pride
Despite his extensive ink, Helaine admitted he hates the experience of getting tattooed: "I hate the pain. I hate getting tattooed."
He added: "I love evolving. I love seeing myself evolving. You suffer, and I really hate the pain and am counting the days to the next tattoo session. I'm really anxious. I don't want to go, but at the end of the tattoo session, I'm really proud, and I feel invincible."
This Morning continues tomorrow at 10.00am on ITV1 and ITVX.
